Pour-through stopper for vacuum bottles



July 26, 1960 c. BRAMMING POUR-THROUGH STOPPER FOR VACUUM BOTTLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29, 1957 INvENToR CARL BRAMMING 95 G fln ou amh dfilwwiw ATTYS.

c. BRAMMING 2,946,491 POUR-THROUGH STOPPER FOR VACUUM BOTTLES Filed May 29, 1957 2 heets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CARL BRAMMING AT'rYs,

Unite ice POUR-THROUGH STGPPER FOR VACUUM BOTTLES Carl Bramming, Nashville, Tenn., assignor to Aladdin Industries, Incorporated, Nashville, Tenn., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 29, 1957, Ser. No. 662,503

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-545) This invention relates to closures for vacuum bottles or the like.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved closure having means for opening a passage therethrough so that liquids may be poured through the closure without any need for removing the closure from the vacuum bottle or other receptacle on which the closure is mounted.

A further object is to provide a new and improved pourthrough closure having superior thermal insulating characteristics, so that the closure will be especially well suited for use on vacuum insulated bottles or other similar receptacles.

Another object is to provide a new and improved pourthrough closure which is easy to open and close and which is arranged so that liquids may be poured through the closure without substantial dripping of the liquids down the side of the vacuum bottle.

A further object is to provide a new and improved pour-through closure which is easy to manufacture and low in cost.

Further objects and advantages of the present inventionwill appear from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a central elevational sectional view of a pourthrough closure to be described as an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the closure being shown mounted in a vacuum bottle.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the closure of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the closure in a changed position to illustrate the manner in which liquids may be poured through the closure when it is open.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary exploded view of the closure, with some of the parts broken away and shown in longitudinal section.

As already indicated, the drawings illustrate a pourthrough closure adapted to be used to close a vacuum bottle 12, or any other suitable receptacle. The illustrated vacuum bottle 12 has inner and outer walls .14 and 16 with an evacuated space 18 therebetween. The inner and outer walls 14 and 16 are joined at their upper ends by an annular top portion 20. The upper portion of the inner wall 14 defines an open mouth 22 for the receptacle 12. It will be seen that the mouth portion 22 tapers downwardly to a slight extent in its inside diameter.

The illustrated closure 10 comprises a stopper 24 having a side wall 26 and a bottom wall 28. Thus, the illustrated stopper 24 is generally cup-shaped in form. The side wall 26 is generally cylindrical but tapers downwardly so as to fit snugly within the mouth 22 of the vacuum bottle 12. The entire stopper 24 may be made in one piece from a suitable soft, resilient, flexible material, such as nylon, polyethylene, various other plastics, synthetic rubber or other rubberlike materials.

At its upper end, the side wall 26 is formed with a pouring lip 30 which flares outwardly and upwardly and terminates in a sharp, annular, overhanging edge 32. As

shown in Fig. 3, liquids may be poured over the lip 30 from inside the stopper 24 without any substantial trickling or dripping of the liquids down the side of the stopper or the vacuum bottle. When the vacuum bottle is returned to its upright position, the outer annular edge 32 of the pouring lip 30 will cut oil the stream of liquid so as to prevent any substantial dripping of liquid down the side of the stopper. The pouring lip 30 also provides an eifective outwardly projecting annular handgrip whereby the stopper may be firmly grasped to push it into or pull it out of the vacuum bottle.

It will be seen that the bottom wall 28 of the stopper has a downwardly facing valve seat 36, adapted to be engaged by a valve member 38. In this case, the valve seat 36 takes the form of a downwardly projecting annular ridge which is disposed on the bottom wall 28 in co-axial relation to the side wall 26. One or more apertures 40 extend through the bottom wall 28 within the seat 36 so that liquid may be poured through the bottom wall when the valve member 38 is in its open position, as. shown in Fig. 3.

The illustrated valve member 38 is generally disk- I shaped and is axially disposed below the bottom wall 28,

for axial movement into and out of sealing engagement with the seat 36. As illustrated, the valve disk 38 is slightly conical and thus is provided with an upper seat engaging surface '42 which slopes outwardly and downwardly.

In order to provide means for operating the valve disk 38, a shaft unit or assembly 44 is connected to the disk and is arranged to extend upwardly through the bottom wall 28 of the stopper 24 so as to be accessible for manual operation from the upper side of the stopper. An axially disposed sleeve or hub '46 is formed on the bottom wall 28 of the stopper so as to provide an axial guide opening 48 adapted to receive the shaft unit 44.

The illustrated shaft unit 44 is formed in a number of parts. Thus, the shaft unit 44 comprises a central or axial stem or shaft 50 which extends along the entire length of the shaft unit. An enlarged knob 52 is formed on the upper end of the stem 50 and is positioned within the stopper 24 near the upper end thereof, so that the knob 52 may be grasped to rotate the stem 50. The stem 50 may be made of metal or other suitable material.

In order to engage with the guide sleeve 46, the illus trated shaft unit 44 is fitted with a bushing or sleeve 54 which is received within the sleeve 46 with a sliding fit. The illustrated bushing 54 is mounted on a reduced lower portion 56 of the stem 50. The valve disk 38 has a central opening 58 which is received on a reduced lower portion 60 formed on the bushing 54. A washer 62 retains the valve disk 38 on the bushing 54. In this case, the washer 62'is secured on the lower endof the reduced. stem portion 56 by a head 64 which is formed outwardly and upwardly from the lower end of the portion 56 by a riveting or peening operation, after the parts are assembled.

In order that the valve disk 38 may be moved upwardly and downwardly when the shaft unit 44 is rotated in opposite directions, the bushing 54 and the guide sleeve 46 are formed with inter-engaging screw elements 66 and 68. In this case, the screw elements 66 take the form of external double lead threads on the bushing 54. Likewise the screw elements 68 take the form of internal double lead thread segments, adapted to engage with the threads 66. It will be seen that the thread segments 68 project inwardly from the guide bore 48 at the upper end of the guide sleeve 46. Above the threads 66, the bushing 54 has an enlarged flange or shoulder 70 adapted to engage the upper end of the guide sleeve 46 to limit downward movement of the bushing. Upward movement Patented July 26, 1960 I r 3 of the bushing is limited by the engagement between the valve disk 38 and the seat 36.

The valve disk 38 may bemade of various suitable materials, such as nylon, polyethylene or other plastics. Various suitable materialsmay also be employed for the bushing 54, such as nylon, polyethylene-or other plastics. The washer 62' may be made of-metal, plastics or other suitable materials.

In use, the stopper 24 is mounted in the vacuum bottle- 12 by graspingthe enlarged lip portion 30 and twistingthe stopper downwardly into the mouth 22 of the vacuum bottle. The stopper may be closed by turning the knob 52' clockwise so as to screw the shaft unit 44 upwardly until the valve disk 38 moves into sealing engagement with the annular seat 36. It will be noted that the illustrated threads 66 and 63 are lefthanded in pitch. The valve disk 38 forms an effective seal so that the liquid contents of the vacuum bottle 12 cannot escape.

The closure may be opened by turning the knob 52 counterclockwise so as to screw the shaft unit 44. downwardly and thereby disengage the valve disk 38 from the seat 3d. The vacuum bottle 12 may then be tilted to pour out its liquid contents. The liquid passes between the seat 36 and the disk 38, and through the apertures 4 9, into the space within the stopper 24. The liquid then flows downwardly and outwardly from the pouring lip 30, which prevents any substantial dripping or trickling of the liquid down the side of the-stopper or the vacuum bottle. When the vacuum bottle is returned to its upright position, the outer edge 32 ofthe lip 36' cuts ofi the stream of liquid and prevents any substantial dripping.

When the stopper is closed, it has superior thermal insulating characteristics. The stopper is deep or elongated so that the valve disk and the operating mechanism therefor are well within the vacuum bottle. Oniy the cylinder stem 50 projects upwardly to any extent. Even the stem is confined within the stopper so as to minimize heat transfer to or from the stem. The hollow stopper forms a dead air space which has a high insulating value. Very little heat will be conducted to or from the vacuum bottle by thev thin side wall of the stopper, particulariy when the stopper is made of plastics or other materials having high insulating value.

The closure is made of onlya few parts which are readily fabricated and easily assembled. Thus the closure may be manufactured'at low cost.

Various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined in the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a closure for vacuum bottles or the like, thecombination comprising a soft resilient hollow generally cup-shaped stopper having aresiliently flexible generally cylindrical downwardly tapering side wall with a generally disk-shaped bottom wall thereon, said bottom wall having an axial guide sleeve formed thereon and projecting upwardly therefrom into said stopper with an opening extending in said sleeve between the upper and lower sides. of said bottom wall, said bottom wall having a plurality of apertures formed therein around said sleeve, a downwa'rdly projecting annular flange-like seat formed on said bottom wall, a soft resilient valve disk disposed below said bottom wall and movable axially of said stopper into and out of sealing engagement with said seat, operating shaft means connected centrally to said disk and extending upwardly through said sleeve to a point accessible for manual operation from the upper side of said stopper, said sleeve and said shaft means having interengaging screw threads thereon for moving said shaft means and said disk upwardly and downwardly in response to rotation of said shaft means, and an outwardly and upwardly flaring pouring lip formed on said side wall at the upper end thereof.

2. In a closure for vacuum bottles or the like, the combination comprising a soft resilient rubber-like hollow generally cup-shaped stopper having a resiliently flexible generally cylindrical downwardly tapering side wall with a generally disk-shaped bottom wall thereon, said bottom wall having an axial guide sleeve formed thereon and projecting upwardly therefrom into said stopper withan opening extending in said sleeve between the upper and lower sides of said bottom wall, a downwardly projecting annular flange-like seat formed on said bottom wall, said bottom wall having an aperture formed therein between said sleeve and said seat, a soft resilient valve disk disposed below said bottom wall and movable axially of said stopper into and out of sealing engagement with said seat, operating shaft means connected centrally to said disk and extending upwardly through said sleeve to a point accessible for manual operation from the upper side of said stopper, said sleeve and said shaft means having interengaging screw threads thereon for moving said shaft means and said disk upwardly and downwardly in response to rotation of said shaft means, and an outwardly and upwardly flaring pouring lip formed on said side wall at the upper end thereof,

3. In a closure for vacuum bottles or the like, the combination comprising a soft resilient rubber-like hollow generally cup-shaped stopper having a resiliently flexible generally cylindrical downwardly tapering side wall with a generally disk-shaped bottom wall thereon, said bottom wall having an axial guide sleeve formed thereon and projecting upwardly therefrom into said stopper with an opening extending in said sleeve between the upper and lower sides of-said bottom wall, a downwardly projecting annular flange-like seat formed on said bottom wall, said bottom wall having an aperture formed therein between said sleeve and said seat, a valve disk disposed below said bottom wall and movable axially of said stopp r into and out of sealing engagement with said seat, and operating shaft means connected centrally to said disk and extending upwardly through said sleeve to a point accessible for manual operation from the upper side of said stopper, said sleeve and said shaft means having interengaging screw threads thereon for moving'said shaft means and said disk upwardly and downwardly in response to rotation of said shaft means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES. PATENTS 

